Whatever you do, don’t call Abasi Rosborough clothing of the future. According to founders Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough, it’s the clothing of today. Abdul and Greg stopped by to discuss the origins of their brand, designing for the modern age, and the importance of sustainability in fashion.

When the Abasi Rosborough label first hit the New York menswear scene back in 2013, it seemed like it was run by fashion’s ultimate futurists. The brand’s namesakes, Greg Rosborough and Abdul Abasi, were dedicated to sparking the evolution of suiting from the tired conventions of the 19th century to something more modern. If the traditional suit was the rotary phone, they wanted to design the sartorial equivalent of the iPhone—a suit that is dynamic, responsive, and game-changing. To do this, Rosborough pulled from his background in competitive basketball and his familiarity with sportswear, while Abasi drew influence from his years as a sergeant in the US military and its utilitarian bomber jackets and cargo pants. Together, the FIT alums created designs that boasted classic European tailoring melded with modern ergonomic design and eclectic inspiration from Japanese kimonos to African ankara prints. Their vision is unmistakably forward-thinking, with each new collection functioning a bit like a software upgrade in which the approach is refined and new features are added.

But recently the brand’s relationship with the future has become complicated. Its Spring/Summer 2018 collection, entitled Hyperobject, featured some clothing with aerial images of melting glaciers, highlighting the adverse effects of climate change that have been especially fueled by polluters in the fashion industry. Then their debut runway show for Autumn/Winter 2018 took their critiques of where humans are headed one step further. Appropriately titledUtopia/Dystopia, the color-blocked collection of avant-garde staples was presented at New York Fashion Week: Men’s in February with beautifully haunting music performed by genre-defying singer-songwriter Kelela and Abdul’s brother Tosin, the metal guitarist of Animals as Leaders. As the cacophonous sound tapped into the dubiety of our times, the models walked the runway wearing “geometric facial recognition maps” on their faces—an explicit nod to the troubling and exciting adoption of that technology, just one more example of the devil’s bargain we’re forced to make between convenience and privacy.

The duality inherent in their new fashion range was a clear outgrowth of the special dialogue between Rosborough and Abasi. To get a better idea where the duo think their menswear and, most importantly, mankind is headed, we asked the designers to let us in on one of their conversations. They gave us a wide-reaching chat, touching on everything from cryptocurrencies and our disassociation from nature to how they developed their latest collection. Here’s what the designers had to say.

Abasi Rosborough is the New York-based fashion label who made waves after a NYFW debut of their FW18 “Utopia/Dystopia” collection earlier this year. Now, for SS18, the label takes a very literal look at the damage from global warming, and their new campaign illustrates what we stand to lose if we don’t act.

Titled “HYPEROBJECT”, Abasi Rosborough’s new collection consists of flight jackets, coats, desert shirts, ankara pants and T-shirts which use a limited edition canvas print of melting sea ice to bring climate change into the forefront of fashion. The prints come from photographer Justin Brice Guariglia, a NYC-based artist who accompanies NASA scientists as they fly over Greenland to document the disappearing glacial ice. The black and white photography is mirrored in the monochrome color palette of the garments, which is interrupted with a flash of orange to signal an urgent sense of alarm.

You can see “HYPEROBJECT” in the video below, which is half nature documentary, half lookbook, intercut with important information about the current state of climate change. It’s as visually spectacular as it is troubling, as the video reminds us, “without change, scientists predict the extinction of polar bears, elephants, chimpanzees, tigers and gorillas within the next 40 years”. Of course, none of this would make any sense if Abasi Rosborough didn’t hold itself to the same standard of sustainability. The SS18 drop is made locally in New York from 80% upcycled deadstock fabrics and all natural materials, i.e. hemp.

Abasi Rosborugh have shown that it’s not only possible for fashion brands to be environmentally responsible, but it can actually make for a very covetable collection at the same time. It feels like a big step forward for ethically-sourced fashion, for both designers and consumers. The campaign also challenges the emotional narrative currently surrounding environmentalism. While the usual conversation about climate change elicits feelings of guilt, duty, and fear, Abasi Rosborough suggests that to actually do something, we replace this with a feeling of love, which actually feels a lot easier for everyone.

New York’s Abasi Rosborough returns with another seasonal collection that blends sustainable craftsmanship with cutting-edge design, showcased in a lookbook informed by the nature photography of Justin Guariglia. The brand continues refining its versatile, contemporary cuts, elevated by bold colors and patterns.

Taking the threat of climate change to heart, Abasi Rosborough resists the consumption and waste of the fashion industry, crafting its clothing in New York from sustainable means — 80% of the clothing is sourced from limited edition deadstock fabrics. Orange hues represent the emergency call to action to save the planet, with each piece offering the wearer some form of protection or functionality, inspired by Abdul Abasi’s eight years of military service. Along with a stunning ice print, the detailed goods are offer anatomical seams, breathable natural fabrics and bold prints, with verbiage like “HYPEROBJECT” and “NASA MISSIONS OVER GREENLAND,” the latter a reference to Guariglia’s nature photographs.

Recorded in front of a live audience in the O.N.S Clothing menswear store in Soho (71 Greene Street), a conversation first with Geo Hagan, content director at O.N.S Clothing, followed by O.N.S Creative Lab partner designers Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough of the Abasi Rosborough brand.

A few hours before Abasi Rosborough’s first runway show, Elon Musk sent a 119,000 ton rocket into space containing a Tesla Roadster. For all intents and purposes, it is the most powerful rocket to date, and a significant middle finger to the law of gravity that could determine the future of space travel. But what does that have to do with a fashion show? Who can really think about clothes when everything—including new forms of currency—is becoming digitized and exists merely as a construct representing value? That’s the question designers Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough sought to answer in their impressive eleventh collection.

“It’s about the duality and the dichotomy of things,” says Abasi. “The images that we used for this season show the progress of humanity, but at the end of it, we don’t know if it’s going to be a utopia or dystopia.” While the five-year-old label has a few seasons under its belt, this was the first occasion where the design duo had the opportunity to express themselves through a fashion show. Abasi, a true clothing enthusiast with an appreciation for Martin Margiela, learned the ropes at influential menswear label Engineered Garments, while Rosborough honed his craft through stints at RLX, Ralph Lauren’s performance-oriented label, British designer Simon Spurr, and New York menswear brand Bespoken.

This collection builds on themes established in the brand’s SS18 collection, “Hyperobject,” which includes prints from photographer Justin Brice Guariglia—aerial landscape photographs taken on NASA flight missions over Greenland. In those clothes, Guariglia’s work is meant to show the impact of global warming, and reinforces a sustainable message through ethically-made garments made of natural fibers. Here, the clothing’s duality is highlighted through interesting contrasts with bright colors and bold prints. Cobalt blues, stark yellows, and bold reds break apart a black, navy, and camel color story, partly inspired by the discordant color theory of artist Clyfford Still.

For its New York Fashion Week debut, local label Abasi Rosborough presented its most mature collection to date. Dubbed “Utopia/Dystopia,” the collection elevated the brand’s usual sportswear and Eastern influences into a progressive, accessible lineup. R&B songstress Kelela and renowned guitarist Tosin Abasi, the brother of designer Abdul Abasi, provided the live soundtrack, which began as ethereal ambience before swelling and rising in volume as the collection reached its zenith, an appropriately weighty complement to the show’s apocalyptic motif.

As the tones shifted to a more colorful palette, the clothing details came to life: anatomical seaming, contrasting mesh panels and various zippered closures became visible on heavy cotton and wool pieces, with some coats carried by backpack-like straps or tied around the waist. At the height of the show, outfits were drenched in eye-grabbing color: a tonally-pink outfit preceded a huge bright blue scarf and a yellow wool poncho walked out after a tie-dyed kimono shirt, boasting matching activewear pants.

“Utopia/Dystopia” was the dubiety at play today in Abasi Rosborough’s Fall lineup, presented with the accompaniment of a live performance by Kelela and Tosin Abasi. The brand, founded in 2013 by Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough, has become known for its conceptual sportswear—and the collection’s diametric title, and execution, furthered the designers’ cool-handed experimental approach.

“It’s this arc,” said Rosborough, “we kind of have simplistic and then it gets more complicated.” He was speaking to the question-mark paradigm of whether we are moving more in the direction of a utopia or a dystopia, given advances in facial recognition technology, autonomous cars, cryptocurrencies, gene editing, and all the other newfangled stuff that, depending on the observer, is either absolutely fantastic or utterly terrifying. Makeup even featured applied synthetic bits and slabs, placed to where facial recognition software maps its coding. Interesting stuff, at least in conversation.

The clothes were more straightforward than the headiness of the paradox, but it didn’t mean they were weakened because of such. Kimono or almost robe-like pieces were seen at first; reflecting, maybe, easier and less extreme times. But soon, color-blocked jackets, wrapped head-scarves, and angularly cut-and-draped or bionically paneled pieces entered the flow; utopian or dystopian, it’s up to you. At the end of the day, it was engaging to see sportswear that tampered in ways with the DNA of its category, while still coming across as (mostly) wearable.

Last night at the Park Avenue Armory, Tom Ford gave New York Fashion Week: Men’s a heavy dose of sex, luxury, and glamour. It was Ford’s first-ever showing at New York’s men’s week. It was the night’s marquee show, but earlier, several of New York’s most creative designers held it down: Abasi Rosborough were presenting their first full runway show. Ben Sklar was behind the scenes and in the mix for all of it.

Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough, the founders of Abasi Rosborough, are out to change how we see NYFW and American designers with their Fall/Winter 2018 collection, the pair's eleventh and first-ever runway show. Concerned with where our society is headed and where technological advances are taking us, Abasi Rosborough crafted a collection that aims to play at the duality of our future: Are we headed toward a dystopian or utopian future?

The show took place at the Cadillac House, which is a CFDA venue that is certainly apt to handle futuristic technology. The venue features 16 large HD pillars on its sides running parallel to each other, with a runway in the middle and a large paneled screen at the end of that runway. Here, guitarist Tosin Abasi (of Animals As Leaders fame) and R&B singer/songwriter Kelela performed an original piece for the show that featured swelled, delayed, complex guitar chords and trilling lead riffs under Kelela’s smooth, angelic crooning that later gave way to a larger vocal range her fans have come to know her for.

There was something otherworldly about the show—I’m positive the dark crimson track lighting and oscillating blue, red and pink hues from the screens helped push this feeling. I posted a photo on my Instagram story yesterday from the show of a model in a technical yellow outerwear piece with a yellow shawl wrapped around his head with reflective pieces of tape on his face carefully arranged to look like some form of metallic mask. Someone responded, “Yo, which Star Wars is this?” and while I wouldn’t boil it down to a summation that simple, the sentiment isn’t that far off. Toeing the line between avant-garde and strictly tailored, many pieces in the collection would be at home in a near-distant future, but they are certainly perfect for life in 2018, too. I’ll add the new “Triple Black” Nike Air VaporMax Flyknit Utility sneakers, the only footwear in the show, was a perfect choice by Abasi and Rosborough. The collection is both wearable and utilitarian, and that’s always been Abasi Rosborough’s intent. If anyone can bring the juice back to NYFW, it’s these two. Whether we’re headed for a utopia or dystopia is unclear, but the future is bright for Abasi Rosborough.

The Cadillac House was packed with eager attendees on Tuesday afternoon, as they waited for Abasi Rosborough's New York Fashion Week: Men's debut. Titled "Utopia/Dystopia," the Fall 2018 collection combines the brand's signatures in tailoring inspired by sport and military with an overarching conversational theme: technology and its advances, from social media and cryptocurrency to the iPhone X's facial recognition system and autonomous cars. "All of these things that can help society can ultimately destroy society," says designer Abdul Abasi.

"Are we leading ourselves into a utopian society or a dystopian society?" asks his partner, Greg Rosborough. "It's a double-edged sword and that's the tip of the iceberg with technology. Where is this taking mankind?"

Singer and songwriter (and Calvin Klein model) Kelela performed on the runway, alongside Abasi's brother and famous guitarist Tosin, as a diverse group of models showcased tailored looks with an Eastern influence in neutral colors, like navys and blacks — zen, peaceful, utopic — that progressed into a more deconstructed and disrupted wardrobe with bright primary colors and bold prints, or the aforementioned dystopia in clothing form.

Whether or not technology creates a utopia or distopia was the concept behind Abasi Rosborough's runway debut. Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough, the designers behind Abasi Rosborough, have gained a following for updating tailored pieces. Whether or not technology creates a utopia or dystopia was the premise of the line, which infused sportswear with more tailored items. They also brought Eastern details into the lineup with kimono jackets and robes. New York Fashion Week: Men’s has presented a plethora of new takes on tailored clothing with active details. Abasi Rosborough’s collection was one of the more focused and innovative of the bunch.

Without sounding hyperbolic, Abasi Rosborough represent the future of fashion design here in New York. With a combined design history that includes stints at brands ranging from Nepenthes to Ralph Lauren, Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough have honed their respective visions into a uniquely unified—yet multi-faceted—lens that fuses the realms of American sportswear, Japanese simplicity, and military precision.

Initially meeting while both attending FIT in NYC, the pair launched their first collection in 2013. Since then, the label has accrued several accolades, including a spot as a 2016 Woolmark Prize Finalist, and a nomination for the LVMH Young Designer Prize earlier this year. More than just innovative tailoring, the label honors the city’s time-tested garment-making tradition; Abasi Rosborough garments are produced ethically in New York with a focus on sustainable and recycled deadstock fabrics.

We sat down with the pair to discuss what it’s like being an independent designer in 2018, menswear’s breakneck hype cycle, and the importance of sustainability in fashion. Scope their self-shot and art-directed editorial (photographed here at Grailed HQ), check out our conversation with the designers and shop a curated selection of archive and one-off sample Abasi Rosborough below.

After showcasing its “E Pluribus Unum,” lookbook, Abasi Rosborough reveals its final presentation for FW17 with “Armistice.” The editorial deals with the ideas of nationalism, disputed lands, racial relations, political opposition, distrust of one another and essentially how we must battle to reconcile with those themes in our daily lives. Captured in New York by LA-based photographer Rob Daly.

There is something in the air tonight. And no, it ain’t good ole’ Phil Collins. We can sense some movement in New York. Something is changing here. Long lagging behind the sartorial quirk of London and often lacking some Parisian chic, the East-Coast is finally kicking back. When it comes to hunting down high spirited voices that embody everything that we believe in here at Fucking Young!: NYC always was our logical next stop. As we all know, this city has more faces than you could ever imagine; so one has to look well in order to spot true magic. And when you finally do stumble upon it, it is so powerful, that nothing can stand in its way!

From the moment you meet Mr. Abdul Abasi and Mr. Greg Rosborough, you feel instinctively drawn to their heartfelt universe. These are no mediocre fashion choir preachers. Both come as well seasoned as one can hope for. When they finally met, already no longer newbies, it was only natural for them to lock hands and create: ABASI-ROSBOROUGH. Think mean tailoring, acute construction, supersensible fabrics and a banging feel of quality, this may be the new definition of ‘nowness’. Oh yes, menswear needs these guys. Like a couple of wise 21st-century mages, they roam amidst grey skyscrapers, deconstructing our stale perception of suiting. Here this wardrobe staple is invigorated and comes in extremely well-executed drops, that invite the wearer in, on an exploration of our world and ourselves. No blah blah, Greg and Abdul make garments for people on the move, in our increasingly connected world. So do dig into some guaranteed fuss-free, clean as f##CK storytelling, courtesy Abdul and Greg.

Abasi Rosborough’s split toe basketball sneaker-chelsea boot hybrid is as intriguing as it is strange.

If you’re going to introduce a new sneaker into the world in 2017, the era of the endlessly iterative sneaker collaboration, it better turn heads. Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough, the co-designers of Abasi Rosborough, are doing just that with their new Arc Tabi boot, which debuts exclusively here. Though it’s their first piece of branded footwear, Abdul and Greg have been making a name for themselves in New York’s men’s fashion scene since 2013—garnering an LVMH Prize nomination along the way. Their clothes, often accompanied by socially-aware campaigns, are form-fitting and functional, resembling that the avant-garde of Rick Owens, minus the exaggeration. And though their sneaker looks like it requires a user manual, Abasi Rosborough’s ninja-basketball-chelsea boot hybrid could be the next punk-ish high fashion footwear to catch on (like Rick Owens’ infamous Geobasket).

The most striking feature of the sneaker is, of course, the traditional Japanese split “tabi” toe. First introduced to high fashion by Martin Margiela in the late-’80s, the tabi toe is supposed to promote natural movement—Greg and Abdul say you can actual play basketball or skateboard in the Arc boot. Can you really ball in split-toe boots? You’ll have to act fast to find out, as the first colorway is in an edition of 50, and available on the Abasi Rosborough site, SSENSE, Isetan, and IF Soho. Below, we talked to Greg and Abdul about how they developed the unique silhouette—and how to style them.

As part of its FW17 collection, Abasi Rosborough debuts its first type of footwear that blends a traditional Japanese tabi shoe (ankle-high and with a separation between the big toe and other toes) combined with an American basketball shoe, and elastic panelling inspired by the British Chelsea boot.

Extremely limited to 50 pieces and individually numbered, the boots will also come with black tabi socks, 24 oz cotton canvas shoe bag, and a limited first edition pin.

"Everything you wear is a costume of some kind. Everything speaks to what you're thinking about, what you're feeling, what you represent, and where you're from - so it's very personal."

Greg Rosborough is the co-founder and design director of Abasi Rosborough. As a fashion designer, he thinks about the interaction between anatomy and functionality. He designs in juxtapositions, combining ancient with modern, minimal with monumental, and interesting with ease.

Greg grew up in Tucson, Arizona where he attended the University of Arizona and worked for the men’s basketball team. Following Arizona, he moved to New York to study Menswear Design at FIT, where an internship at Ralph Lauren landed him his first job as a designer. He also founded UGallery, a curated online art gallery which now represents 500 artists and sells artwork in over 60 countries.

In this episode, Greg tells the story of his first trip to New York as an 18 year old, his visit to Bergdorf Goodman, and how it inspired him to become a designer. We talk about his travels to Japan, Istanbul, and Morocco, his favorite books, and how he's fused ideas from various disciplines including architecture and the US Military to redefine the men’s suit. Greg was a 2017 LVMH (Louis Vuitton) Young Fashion Designer Prize Nominee. This conversation will give you a glimpse into the thinking and creativity behind Abasi Rosborough.

For CIFF, (in RAVEN Projects) ABASI ROSBOROUGH will be presenting their collection in a spectacular installation incorporating elements from their collaboration with artist, Justin Guariglia. Justin recently accompanied the NASA teams on research flight missions over Greenland to document the melting of the glaciers from above.

“ABASI ROSBOROUGH encapsulates many of the values we strive to promote here at CIFF like creativity and innovation. ABASI ROSBOROUGH as a brand illustrates how strong values can strengthen good design and make it more relevant for consumers. They are showing our industry the way forward. We’re thrilled to welcome Greg and Abdul to the CIFF community.” – said Kristian W. Andersen (CIFF Fashion & Design Director)

Abasi Rosborough was shortlisted for this year’s Prize, and though it didn’t advance to the final round, Rosborough still views the experience as invaluable. “To be nominated was a strong point of validation for our work, process and story,” Rosborough says. “We had deep design discussions with Linda Loppa, Cathy Horyn, Tim Blanks and Nicolas Ghesquière, who intellectualised our work and gave us great insights, comparisons and thoughts.”

It had concrete benefits, too — since its nomination the brand has noticed an uptick in press and growth in its e-commerce business. “With other competitions, once it’s over, there isn't much more that can happen,” Rosborough continues. “But with LVMH and all of the labels under their umbrella, the networking and opportunities are astounding. It is an incredible support framework to bring new designers into a global light. It’s also the most brilliant way imaginable for a company like LVMH to meet all the best emerging design talent in the world each year.”

Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough of menswear line Abasi Rosborough think carefully about the visual power of their brand. "Our platform is fashion and clothes and communication," explained Abasi, who is the the first child in his family born in the United States and feels as Nigerian as he does American. Immigrant values of hard work and determination are priorities for the four-year-old menswear brand, which was launched to revolutionize the suit while honoring its historic association with power and was short-listed for the 2017 LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers.

Abasi Rosborough felt politically motivated this season, presenting a uniform for today's protestor, complete with military-inspired fabrics like Velcro. Just before the election, the designers published an editorial featuring the Senegalese model they work with exclusively, Aly Ndiaye, wearing the Autumn 2016 collection around historic government buildings in Washington DC.

Titled “Orison,” Abasi Rosborough recently unveiled its 2017 spring/summer editorial lookbook. With an old abandoned warehouse set as the key backdrop, the New York-based imprint reveal a monochromatic collection of reimagined sportswear items. The interpretive dance-like feature showcases a technically sound ensemble in a variety of acrobatic movements showcasing the fluidity and functionality of the designs. Void of any garish patterns and prints, the offering keeps to a simple palette choosing to spotlight not only its stylistic charms but practicality to boot.

"The only true true rebels in the twenty-first Century are guys like Julian Assange and Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning, because they risked their lives to release government information to better all of us. That is the most rebellious act you can do."

Masculinity, zen, militarism, and geo-politics are woven into the suits of Abasi Rosborough. Founders Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough are rebellious designers with an eye on the big abstractions. The pair does everything from incorporating Buddhist notions of the void into suit design, to paying homage toward political rebels like Julian Assange. CONVICTS recently caught up with this pair of rare individuals and got their thoughts on just about everything under the sun.

“In fashion, many big companies won’t take a stand politically because they don’t want to alienate consumers,” says Greg Rosborough. His menswear label, Abasi Rosborough, co-founded in 2013 with fellow Fashion Institute of Technology grad Abdul Abasi, isn’t so timid. The line’s collections have names such as Diaspora and Dissident, one of its lookbooks features a black model at the Lincoln Memorial, and the clothes are manufactured in New York City, largely by immigrants. “Our business revolves around working with immigrants,” says Rosborough. “They’re the epitome of the American dream.”

Both designers have a connection to the current immigration debate. Abasi, who spent nearly eight years in the Army, eventually working as a missile technician, is the son of Nigerians. Rosborough grew up in Arizona, close to the Mexican border. But more than a critique of public policy, their work is a revolt against the entire concept of menswear, the standards of which have barely changed in decades. “How is it possible that with everything evolving around us—communication, architecture, automobiles—the thing that’s closest to our skin hasn’t evolved in even the simplest way?” asks Rosborough.

New York City’s Garment District exists in a strange interzone between tourist hotspots, nestled in midtown Manhattan between Madison Square Garden and Times Square. At street level, it is a kaleidoscope of storefronts packed with fabric bolts and swatch books. Above, factories still operate at full-tilt. Though diminished from its productive peak—like almost every sector of domestic manufacturing—it remains a resilient hub of American ingenuity, an essential staging ground for young New York brands like Abasi Rosborough. This label’s central concern has been a ground-up reinvention of classic men’s tailoring. Recognizing that the restrictive shapes of the suit jacket and trousers no longer serve the needs of the 21st century city-dweller, their clothes are cut to emphasize range of motion and versatility. Their fabric selections are more traditional: always all-natural, and frequently unique deadstock sourced blocks away from where their garments are assembled. With eight seasons under their belts, founders Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough’s approach is connecting—they have just been nominated for the 2017 LVMH Prize.

Adam Wray visited the duo in the Garment District at the factory where their clothing is cut and sewn.

By fusing military-sport style with business casual—as well as their last names—Abasi Rosborough was born. An innovative idea about the continuum of tailoring prompted the twosome to join forces in the first place. During a flight to France, Rosborough witnessed a flight attendant (rocking a nicely fitted suit) take off his jacket in order to help an elderly woman put a bag in an overhead compartment. “I thought, ‘How are we living in the 21st century but have not designed clothing that respects our body’s anatomy enough to allow us to raise our arms above our heads?’ ” says Rosborough. Since then, they’ve been on a mission to create garments that are functional without ever sacrificing style. “We think about clothing like skin. The brand is meant to exist on a plane that transcends gender, race and class and makes the wearer more empowered and equipped to deal with daily society,” says Abasi.

I first met Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough of Abasi Rosborough several years ago at Colibri, the textile and garment dyeing studio in New York while they were working on their first collection. It is rare in New York to see a brand that produces menswear that transcends the usual tropes of streetwear or “classic with a twist.” What I saw in their work from day one is real design – thoughtful, deliberate, painstaking – especially evident in the way they approached tailoring by making it relevant to the way men dress today. I continued to follow their impressive work each season.

What is even more rare in New York is for fashion’s powers that be (I am looking at you, CFDA) to recognize homegrown talent that is not driven by hype. It is then with great pleasure. And now it has taken a foreign fashion authority, LVMH, to recognize Abasi Rosborough, who has been nominated for the 2017 LVMH prize. Abdul and Greg put together a little retrospective of their work for us to commemorate their nomination.

After reviewing a record-breaking 1,200-plus applications from all over the world, the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers has short-listed 21 semifinalists. What’s more, the prize committee has a surprise addition to its 40-strong panel of experts: Kendall Jenner will join fellow model-experts Karlie Kloss and Natalia Vodianova in casting votes to arrive at eight finalists. In the coming months, LVMH’s stable of designers and select executives will determine who takes home the 300,000-euro prize. The winner (or winners) will be announced on June 16 at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris. In an exclusive interview, Delphine Arnault, the LVMH Prize founder and executive vice president of Louis Vuitton, spoke with Vogue.com about the process and late-breaking news from the inside.

As we previously reported, Abasi Rosborough is quickly becoming one of New York’s leading proponents of “casually cool,” military and athletic-inspired minimalism. From the abstract concept and reality of the “The American Dream” to the Abasi Rosborough pair’s forward-thinking approach to fashion, the SSENSE piece magnifies the ideologies behind the brand and allows the two designers to deliver some words of wisdom to today’s consumers. Most notably, Abdul Abasi broke down the “design process” for the his company as such:

Good design is invisible. You actually shouldn’t notice good design. Not to say we’ve solved all the problems, but we think we’re at a place where the design is almost silent, and you don’t even notice it. That’s how clothing should feel—everything else you have is incorrectly designed.

Our platform is making clothing. You can’t actually design fashion. Fashion is the reappropriation of clothing by people. Skinhead style, or rockabilly, or whatever, that’s a group of people taking disparate elements from different cultures, whether it’s workwear, motorcycle jackets, things that were designed for certain functions, and then they turn it into a uniform. People latch on and it becomes a movement. And then that becomes fashion, or anti-fashion, which itself eventually becomes fashion. That takes a lot of weight off of what Greg and I do. It levels the playing field, especially nowadays with the prevalence of streetwear, and Vetements, and all this culture that seems to be taken from people that don’t exist in the fashion world but have been recontextualized and put into a luxury frame.

“One thing we always challenge ourselves to do is the Grocery Store Test. I lived in Bed-Stuy [in Brooklyn, New York] and people would clown you if you’re wearing funky clothes,” says Rosborough, who is wearing all AR before he heads over to the brand’s factory space in Manhattan’s Garment District. “So the Grocery Store Test is: ‘Is this conceptual enough that we find it interesting, but you can still wear it into a grocery store in Bed-Stuy and not get clowned for what you’re wearing?’ It’s this commercial versus critical angle of finding where it fits in.”

Abasi and Rosborough met at FIT in the mid-2000s, coming from drastically different backgrounds. Abasi was a missile and attack helicopter technician for the U.S. Army stationed in the Netherlands, while Rosborough was a student manager for the University of Arizona’s basketball team who got his foot in the door for a team design meeting with Nike after he was unimpressed with the uniforms the athletic giant had created and submitted his own. The two went separate ways after school but maintained a mutual respect for each other’s different styles that ultimately manifested in the brand’s 2013 launch.

Young upstarts like Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough of the three-year-old New York men’s line Abasi Rosborough are just as concerned about the election as some of the more established figures in American fashion. For Fall 2016, Abasi and Rosborough shot a campaign that expresses their dismay at the negativity called forth by the presidential contest. As Rosborough says, “An election for the individual that should represent the best of our people has brought out the worst side of our country.”

The designers traveled to Washington, D.C. in late October with the model Aly Ndiaye. Shot by Abasi, styled by Rosborough, and set against the capital’s monumental marble grandeur, the resulting pictures, are “more emotionally charged than anything we’ve done before,” says Abasi. While the designers have shown their clothing in architectural landscapes in the past, those photos were emotionally cooler. The pair’s aim this time was to make the imagery “far more direct,” says Rosborough. That’s in part because of the issues that have come to the fore in this election, like immigration. “Abdul is a first-generation American with Nigerian parents,” Rosborough says. “And most of the people we work with, as a company in New York, are from all corners of the world and represent the best American values—work ethic, innovation, and grit. Shouldn’t anyone who looks down on immigrants be considered anti-American? We’ve been feeling a lot of emotions in regard to the election, and we wanted to convey that introspection, exhaustion, and anger.”

What's your name and where are you from? Greg: Gregory Thomas Rosborough, from Tucson, Arizona.Abdul: Abdul Waheed Abasi, from Washington, D.C.

When and how did you launch the brand?Greg: I moved to New York in 2006 to study menswear design at FIT and met a guy there named Abdul Abasi, who had just finished serving in the military. Design school went well, and I got my first job as a designer at Ralph Lauren. After working there a few years, I called Abdul and we met for coffee and started discussing design and concepts. We both agreed that the world does not need another designer brand, but if we were going to do something, it needed to have something to say and a strong perspective. We spent two years working on concepts and prototypes before setting out with our vision for 21st-century tailoring—based on anatomical and military research—and in January 2013 we launched the brand.Abdul: We launched AR in 2013 after a few years of developing our design ethos. We wanted to create the next evolution in men's clothing. We wanted to push the idea of men's tailoring forward.

In 2006, after almost eight years traveling the world with the Army, Abdul Abasi decided it was time to pursue another career. He met with his commander, who asked him what was next. “I said, ‘I am going to become a fashion designer.’ He looked at me, shocked,” Abasi says. “Then he said, ‘Make sure I get the first Abasi suit.’ ” The commander can now get his wish. In 2013, Abasi and designer Greg Rosborough co-founded the hot menswear brand Abasi Rosborough. “He has that military quality in him, which is discipline. He’s reliable, he’s responsible,” says Rosborough, who met Abasi when they were both students at the Fashion Institute of Technology. “He’s what you would want in a friend and a business partner, someone who is always present and considerate as well.” Abasi, 35, grew up in the Washington, DC, area and has harbored a love of art and design for as long as he can remember. Yet after graduating high school at 17, Abasi enlisted. “I met an Army recruiter and he spoke to me about how I could travel the world,” he says, “and how they’d give us money for college.”

it started with an illustration of the unsuitability of 19th-century jackets on an airplane. “The suit jacket guys around the world wear every day was designed in 1860 in London. It’s about 150 years old,” says Greg Rosborough. “I was on a flight and a male steward, who had a nice, fitted jacket on, was trying to help a woman at the beginning of the flight to take her bag from the floor to the overhead compartment. But his jacket was so fitted that he got to about shoulder height and he couldn’t lift the bag any higher.” Rosborough says the steward put down the bag, took off his jacket and then was able to help the passenger. “As a designer, I was dumbfounded that there’s this jacket, the gold standard of menswear, worn by millions of men around the world every day, that respect your anatomy and won’t allow you to lift your hands above your head.”

Q: Can you tell us about the brand’s philosophy? GR: There are more than enough clothes in the world for the next 200 years. So if you’re going to be a new designer, you better have a reason for doing so. A traditional suit designed in the 1860s in London is over 150 years old. It’s not working anymore because you have no range of motion. You cannot raise your arms, and there are all these outdated details. So we wanted to develop a men’s suit for the future. We created panels so [the wearer] can breathe and move in the suit. That’s how we got started.

Q: Did you start the brand with the vision of making it global? GR: Initially, we wanted to [remain as] an American brand – everything was made in New York and we would probably just sell in America. But then our first [clients] were from Tokyo, Dubai, Kuwait and Hong Kong. So we had to think of the brand in a global way immediately, which was great. I think our message has been resonating.

Inspiration can sometimes hit at the most unexpected moments. While stationed in the Netherlands with the US Army in his early 20s, fashion designer Abdul Abasi came to love the vibrant design and street style he saw during off-duty rambles around Amsterdam. In 2006, he traded his position as a NATO missile technician for a place at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), and there he met classmate Greg Rosborough, who would later become his business partner. Now three years into his role as creative director of the duo’s own line, Abasi Rosborough, Abdul shares how his own ethos and the brand’s mission to modernize menswear is rooted in his military past...

Earlier this year we named Abasi Rosborough as one of the most slept on brands in New York City, so it's even better to see them recognized as one of this year's nominees. The design duo behind Abasi Rosboroug, Abdul Abasi and GregRosborough, have been cultivating the brand since 2013 by mixing their backgrounds in military and athletics. Even though it has stayed pretty under-the-radar, its futuristic take on menswear staples have definitely garnered it plenty of fanboys.

“There’s no practicality to it today. It’s a vestige of the past.” Slowly, the pair began to reshape a suit jacket on their own terms. They kept the horsehair canvassing of the jacket (a signature of Savile Row suits) so that there would be some shape to the chest, eliminated all buttons but one and reduced the collar lapel to a simple, elegant line. Their aim was to make a suit that was just as sophisticated and dignified as any other — but more comfortable, easier to move in, more versatile. Using Abasi as the fit model, they developed a kind of ergonomic tailoring, adapting a raglan sleeve and adding panels of wool jersey fabric to make a suit with a designer sensibility, which wouldn’t be out of place in an office, but which moved like activewear. (Roll over the image above to see each of the design changes they made on their signature “Arc” jacket from the spring/summer 2016 collection.) “We just allowed it to become what it was naturally, based on how the body moves,” Rosborough said. So began the Abasi Rosborough brand.

Imagine what the suit of the future looks like. Now take a look at Abasi Rosborough and find out whether you were on-the-nose or way off-base. True, the manufacturing processes by which we make clothes haven't advanced much, but the design sensibilities of former Engineered Garments design assistant Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough, who cut his teeth at Ralph Lauren, Simon Spurr, and Bespoken, are clearly ahead of their time. Inspired by ergonomics and things that are built to last, Abasi Rosborough's standout ARC Jacket and ARC Trousers are made to move, but not in the cheesy "athleisure" way. The brand opts for 100% cotton and wool instead of blends, and smartly implements articulation in the waist, knees, elbows, and other key movement areas. Oh right, and the jackets are fully canvassed, which shows how serious Abasi Rosborough is about suiting.

Designer duo Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough enlist the modeling talent of an anonymous New York native for their latest editorial effort for the Fall/Winter 2015 season. Titled “Four Names of Man,” the editorial explores the concept that we are all given four names over the course of our life — the name our parents give us at birth, our nickname used only by our friends, a name only we call ourselves, and the name, or legacy, we are remembered by. Featuring the label’s “ORISON” collection, the pieces display the duo’s signature reductionist approach, with largely unadorned but well-structured garments in black and camel. Shop these looks online now at Abasi Rosborough.

Abasi Rosborough, the project of Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough, has been crafting out NYC-made, conceptual collections season after season. The pair's latest photo series, "The Four Names of Man," is the latest chapter in the brand's thoughtful editorials. Showcasing Abasi Rosborough's Autumn/Winter 2015 "ORISON" collection, the photo editorial questions the names we, and those in our lives, give us. As co-designer Greg Rosborough explained, "The editorial explores the idea of identity throughout our lives - (1) we are given a name by our parents at birth, (2) our friends have a name they use for us, (3) there is a name that we use for ourselves introspectively, (4) and there is a name that we will be remembered by, our legacy." Shot at Brooklyn's Gentry storefront, the editorial also tapped into the brand's NYC roots, using a native New Yorker (who wished to remain anonymous) to help bring this "self actualization process" to life in the photographs.

Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough met at F.I.T. in 2006, and regrouped to found their own line in 2013. Inspired as much by the elegant, functional industrial designs of Dieter Rams as they were by the history of menswear, the two sought to bring suits and other classic items, like overcoats and jeans, into the twenty-first century through technical innovation and radical rethinking. Their bleeding-edge clothes draw inspiration from activewear and—in the case of “Monolith,” their spring 2016 collection—Richard Serra’s “East-West/West-East,” a group of monumental steel sculptures in the Qatari desert that constitute the artist’s grandest work.

New York label Abasi Rosborough is known to honor rustic textiles and silhouettes and its Fall/Winter 2015 collection is no different. Designers Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough offer a line of oversized tunics, unstructured jackets, flowing trousers and scarves with inspiration drawn from militaristic elements. Unlike other collections that attempt to recreate a similar aesthetic in a heavy-handed way, the subtle execution in each piece allows the latest drop to be far more accessible. This is evidenced by the ability to layer each item to create a complex outfit that walks the border of formal and casual wear...

Joshua Kissi from Street Etiquette showcases Abasi Rosborough's latest collection in their new editorial titled "Dispora." Kissi is seen sporting the brand's Spring/Summer 2015 pieces like the crinkled viscose pants and jacket and the wool paneled jacket. The designers, Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough, paired the futuristic pieces with African masks and jewelry to represent the past. The images, shot by Abasi, symbolize the colors of displaced people around the world and signify the idea that we are always connected to our homelands.

New York City retains its reputation as a cultural melting pot for its relative acceptance (in many cases, celebration) of various heritages. As a result, labels that emerge from the city are often concerned with representing certain diasporas – often tracing back to the designers’ own heritage. It’s no surprise then, that the latest from burgeoning label Abasi Rosborough is concerned with honoring rustic textiles and silhouettes. Applying knowledge drawn from their tenures at Engineered Garments and Ralph Lauren, designers Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough offer up a neat assortment of tunics, unstructured jackets, flowing trousers and scarves...

Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough, the duo behind label Abasi Rosborough, boast an impressive foundation in menswear; both studying at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology and going on to work of the likes of Engineered Garments and Ralph Lauren. Undoubtably picking up some serious skills on the way, their latest editorial, “Diaspora,” allows the pair to demostrate their accrued knowledge, the use of vivid color highlighting the textures in each garment with a near eerie contrast...

For Abasi Rosborough designers Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough, progression is the baseline. The duo, who had been classmates at FIT, created their label as a response to staid conservatism in the menswear market. Exhausted by jobs that asked them to design clothing that no longer addressed the demands of contemporary urban life, they set to work on rebuilding the man's wardrobe from the ground up. Now in its fifth season, Abasi Rosborough applies architectural precision to familiar aesthetic touchstones and global traditions. Their garments collapse the old "form follows function" maxim — all elements are both necessary and elegant.

Ahead of its Fall/Winter 2015 show at Paris Fashion Week this month, Abasi Rosborough has given us a sneak peek at what the forthcoming range will consist of. And by the looks of it, designers Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosboroughstuck to what they know best. As shown in the brand’s 14th editorial, titled Redemption, the Fall/Winter 2015 range continues the label’s signature minimalist vibe with clean and simple lines...

New York-based fashion label Abasi Rosborough has released a prelude editorial to its 2015 fall/winter collection which is set to premiere in Paris later this month. Entitled “Redemption,” this editorial was photographed around the Cloisters in upper Manhattan and acts as a teaser of the new pieces to expect. The monochromatic imagery is indicative of the muted gradient colors the label has worked with in its 2014 fall/winter collection...

For Spring 2015, their fourth collection as partner-designers, New York-based duo Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough looked as close to home as Bed-Stuy and as far as the Middle East. “We’re selling to a lot of stores there—and where is it hotter than the Middle East?” Abasi told Style.com. “If you can sell for spring/summer there, you can accommodate anybody else’s climate.” But it wasn’t just the climate that inspired this season...

Though their partnership has resulted in only four collections so far, designers Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough have gained an impressive following since the 2013 debut of their eponymous label, Abasi Rosborough. Known for their fashion-forward interpretation of menswear staples, they’ve been able to deliver a unique aesthetic that is simultaneously minimalist and elaborate...

Based in NYC, Abasi Rosborough is a progressive, forward-thinking men’s brand that’s really aiming to get men to think about new ways of dressing. The two designers behind the brand are Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough; they met at F.I.T. and they have experience from revered menswear brands like Engineered Garments and Ralph Lauren. Their design aesthetic infuses elements from activewear, architecture and traditional ethnic regalia into expertly tailored garments...

When you see these photos from young New York brand Abasi Rosborough, you probably wouldn't guess that the designers come from such venerable brands such as Engineered Garments and Ralph Lauren, but Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough do, and maybe this proves the old saying about needing to know the rules before you can break them. To show off their fall 2014 wares with an editorial called Shadow, they took to New York's famed financial district...

New York-based fashion label Abasi Rosborough has unveiled the lookbook for their 2014 fall/winter collection. Shot in and around the financial district, Wall Street and the stock exchange, the power and architecture of the area is channeled through the sharp lines, monotone blocking and structured nature of the pieces. The items remain consistent with the label’s military and sportswear influences...

There are some people who struggle to find the words that describe themselves or their work. But for someone like Abdul Abasi, the words come to him with such ease it’s as though he’s done all of this before. And that’s because he has. Abasi’s résumé is as impressive as it gets for a young 30-something with a freshly-minted brand, Abasi Rosborough, which has generated buzz from New York to Paris...

Launched in 2012, Abasi Rosborough finishes off its Spring 2014 collection strongly with this fifth and final editorial for the season. Titled “Dais,” the shoot showcases the almost saintly garments that include ivory and white coats, shirts, and denim from the collection and presents the clothing in a complimentary monotone environment. While the linen and cotton textiles reveal their exquisite textures...

Abasi Rosborough has dropped its fifth (and final) editorial for the season, which serves to showcase its supremely minimal spring/summer 2014 collection. The aesthetically pristine shoot showcases monochromatic white coats, jackets, shirts, and denim from the collection in a stark environment for maximum flourishment. The linen and cotton textiles exist in sharp contrast...

For Fall 2014, as seen in this exclusive editorial for Style.com, functional details abound, like taped seams, interior shoulder straps, and underarm and crotch inserts for mobility. Fabrics look space-age but are all natural—even the wool blend that feels like wet suit material. And lots of inspiration is taken from one of the oldest, most influential menswear designers in history: the military...

It’s hard to find innovation in fashion. For the past year I’ve been working for StyleForum I’ve seen a lot of great collections up close and had the chance to talk with some fascinating designers, but rarely have I ever been struck by something and said to myself “this is what’s next.” I felt that way after meeting with the minds behind Abasi Rosborough...

Designers Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough met studying menswear design at FIT before Abasi went to work for Patrik Ervell and Engineered Garments and Rosborough for Ralph Lauren. The two launched their brand in 2012 after years-long discussions about how to reinvent men’s suiting for better fit and flexibility. I asked Rosborough about how it all came together...

With a background that includes studying at FIT and designing for Simon Spurr and Ralph Lauren, Greg Rosborough’s resume is practically bolded, underlined, and in italics. And now he’s teamed up with Nepenthes manager and the virtual face of Engineered Garments, Abdul Abasi for Abasi Rosborough, a brand new, design-heavy avant-garde...

Nothing in their backgrounds would give one the impression that Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough, founders of the New York–based clothing label Abasi Rosborough, were destined to become fashion designers. After high school Abdul joined the U.S. Army, where he worked on Apache attack helicopter–systems’ repair. Greg played sports throughout his youth...

1. Can you please give a brief introduction of yourselves? We met at the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2006 and studied menswear design together. We had different backgrounds – Abdul was in the US military and Greg worked in basketball – but shared a love of design. Abdul went to design for Engineered Garments and Greg went to Ralph Lauren. After a few...

Abasi Rosborough is a really new brand, but it's one we think is worth paying attention to. Imagine if the bass player from your favorite band had a side project that you thought was on the level of his previous work. It's kind of like that. You may know co-designer Abdul Abasi from his gig at Nepenthes and trademark hairstyle that rivals Tres Bien model Sune Conta...

One afternoon a few months ago I visited my good friend Costas at his fabric and garment dyeing studio in Manhattan. There I met two young gentlemen who were browsing a copy of StyleZeitgeist magazine. They introduced themselves as Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough. They were in the process of developing their second collection under the name...

Brooklyn label Abasi Rosborough from Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough present Fall Winter 2013. The pair met whilst studying at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, Abasi went on to work for Engineered Garments whilst Rosborough spent time learning the trade at Ralph Lauren. Their joint project veers away from those established labels...

The suit is starting to change. No, we're not talking about just slimmer cuts worn with bright, bold socks. Menswear designers are starting to take tailored clothing and move it in a modern, fashion-forward direction that isn't afraid of demystifying the prestige of the suit—while creating pieces of the highest integrity. Labels such as Abasi Rosborough are studying...

Check out the chic, modern silhouettes from Brooklyn-based menswear line Abasi Rosborough. “This brand is the creation of two Brooklyn-based designers Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough. Before founding Abasi Rosborough in 2012, Rosborough designed for Ralph Lauren while Abasi worked forEngineered Garments after serving the US military...

Abdul Abasi and Greg Rosborough teamed up to create Abasi Rosborough. Who is Abdul Abasi? ONLY THE OTHER SUPER FAMOUS MENSWEAR MEME GUY BESIDES SUNE. HE'S ENGINEERED GARMENTS VERY OWN MODEL AND MAIN MAN. But let’s not focus on the fact that you are overly familiar with a complete stranger’s face and instead...

Yesterday I had the pleasure of previewing the Abasi Rosborough collection and it is simply beautiful. In my opinion they have figured out a new way to modernize clothing for the future while still maintaining the essence of the garment. These are some of my favorite looks from their AW 13 lookbook. The collection is made in the USA and they use some of the best fabrics...